


Protection Has its Price

by Zodiac



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know who made the bandwagon of Sans unintentionally terrifying Papyrus with his powers, It starts off really badly then ends up kind of okay, but I am gonna hop on it and ride it straight to hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-10-14
Packaged: 2018-04-26 09:18:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4999240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zodiac/pseuds/Zodiac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Papyrus' plan to get the human child back on the right track looks to be failing, the only one who can step in to save him is his brother. The only problem with that is that Papyrus wasn't even aware Sans had magical powers to begin with, much less ones as powerful as he does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Protection Has its Price

Papyrus just stood there in the snow, arms stretched out to his sides, an offer for a hug that had not yet been taken. And would most likely never be taken, considering the circumstances.

The human had gotten close enough by now for him to make them out through the fog. Partially hidden by their sweater sleeves, their hands were covered in thick-looking gloves which were, in turn, coated in a chalky white powder. Now, this wasn't _too_ unusual by itself; Snowdin had, well, snow and snow tended to stick to and stain any clothing it came into contact with for an extended period of time. What _was_ unusual was how the human shambled from place to place, trudging along unceasingly as if possessed. What was unusual was how they didn't seem to enjoy his puzzles in the slightest. But, perhaps the most unusual aspect was how their eyes now seemed to be glowing red with sheer malice, the color easily cutting through the remaining fog to stare directly into his eye sockets.

Though he was trembling slightly under that intense gaze, Papyrus still held his ground. It was his duty, both as a guard and an overall great person, to assist people in need however he could and this child clearly needed help in finding the right thing to do again. Papyrus was determined to show it to them, even if he was secretly terrified of what might happen if he was to fail. "Human! I know you can do better than this! Maybe you are unable to do so without any help, but I, the great Papyrus, am happy to help get you back on the straight and narrow! So, please, step forward and claim your hug of assistance!" They stepped forward alright, but the way they raised their closed fists and _smiled_ at him revealed that they had no intention of hugging him. The trembling turned to quaking and sweat began beading on his skull as he realized just what was about to happen to him. "P-please..."

The human pulled one of their fists back, but, before the hit could connect, something else shoved Papyrus back to the ground. He let out a soft grunt as he hit the packed snow and looked up. Between himself and the confused human who had hopped back a bit in surprise, was Sans, hands casually tucked into his jacket pockets as though this was the most normal thing in the world. It took only a moment for Papyrus to realize what he intended to do—fight the human in his stead—and he scrambled to push himself up on his elbows once he did.

Sans just literally couldn't do something like that. He was so fragile that even a strong enough wind might be a threat to him and he had utterly no way of defending himself. If the human wanted to, which it definitely seemed like they did judging by how that wrong smile was back on their face, they could easily tear him to shreds. If anything bad happened to his brother because of him... No, nothing bad _would_ happen to him because, as his brother, Papyrus simply wouldn't allow it! He pushed himself up on his arms and was preparing to stand up altogether when he called out his brother's name, hoping hearing it will keep him from doing anything foolhardy until he got back on his feet.

"Sa-" He started, but never finished as his throat locked up in surprise at what was happening in front of him.

The human was suddenly covered in a blue aura, wisps of magic roiling off them. Their smile warped into a snarl as they jerked their head from side to side, but otherwise, they didn't move from their place. That could only be a blue attack, but he clearly wasn't using it on the child, so that could only mean...

He turned his attention back to Sans and saw that he had one arm out of his pockets, steadily holding it parallel to the ground. There was a shimmer in the air beside him and, out of nowhere, a skull materialized, wide and with a mouth full of sharp-looking fangs, though Papyrus had a subconscious feeling that its bite wasn't the most fearsome part of it. He had started shivering again by this point, but the next thing he heard made him freeze up entirely out of pure terror. It was his brother's slow, familiar voice, but wrong, a deep, growled reverb present where there was usually only Sans' easy, kick-back voice.

"Don't you dare hurt my baby brother, you _freak_."

With that, the hovering skull opened its jaws and unleashed a beam of light from its mouth that vaporized the human near-instantly. Its job done, the skull vanished back to wherever it had been before this and Sans dropped his arm before turning around to face him.

But it wasn't the Sans that he knew.

His left eye was a vivid electric blue color, slashing through the fog as easily as the human's had to seemingly stare at his very soul. His right was absent entirely, leaving behind only the pitch black void of his eye socket. Papyrus wasn't sure which one was more unsettling. Both of them combined made the grin always present on his brother's face seem downright maniacal.

And then Sans blinked and, when he reopened his eyes, they were the usual white dots.

Seemingly back to normal, his brother reached a hand down to him to help him up and muttered an awkward little, "Hey bro." in his lazy, even voice.

Unable to stop himself, Papyrus flinched at the offered hand. Yes, Sans had just saved his life and exhibited awe-inspiring powers in the process. But he had also just _killed_ someone, didn't seem too bothered by this fact, and used magic stronger than that of any other monster he had ever seen before; magic that he had somehow managed to keep hidden from him all this time until now.

It made him wonder what _else_ Sans had been hiding from him.

Seeing his offer rejected, his brother stuffed the hand back in his pocket as his shoulders slumped, looking defeated even though he had just won the battle. "...Sorry about that." He said in a soft voice that sounded so very tired.

Seeing him be so... not himself made his mistake stick out like a sore thumb. Sure, Sans might have just killed a human and might actually be the strongest monster in the underground, but he was still his brother and brothers like them cared for each other, no matter what. With that thought resonating in his mind, he finally got back on his feet and bent down to gingerly pick up his brother as though he was picking up a volatile explosive. It wasn't the best he could do, but it would take his subconscious a while to come to terms with the fact that Sans wouldn't turn that devastating eye on him any time soon.

"Hey, shhh, you don't have to apologize for anything. Sans, you saved my life and that's better than any apology you can come up with. I guess I was just... surprised by how you went about it is all." When Sans' only response was to snuggle closer to him in his arms and bury his face into his scarf, he saw that as a good thing. "Now, how's about we spend the rest of the day watching TV together and eating reheated spaghetti? Hm?"

The minute nod that he finally got as an answer had him grinning and he immediately headed to their house, determined to make both of them feel better after their ordeal today.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this and wanted to screech at me in a manner similar to socializing, then you can find my Tumblr right [here](http://catsandcomposers.tumblr.com/).


End file.
